We'd have to know your preferred sound and what kind of music you listen to in order to rank the effectively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alberto01

Please give details on the differences that make the MH1C sound so much better than the D2K.

One major flaw that abundant bass headphones can have, is cave like sound, as compared to IEMs. It is much harder to get cave like sound with abundant bass IEMs, than it is with headphones.

As I said. the D2K's beat it in everything except sound signature. mh1c is much closer to my preferred sound as far as the balance between subbbass, bass and mids is concerned.

But. I'm waiting to receive the xba-3 before making the final decision on selling the D2K or not.

And what do you mean cave like sound? If you mean openness and massive space, then yes, it is harder to get that with iems. The D2k's sound extraordinarily open. They are more focused on subbass and that was one reason I loved them. Which is why I was surprised when I moved back to them after hearing the mh1c for so long.

I'm sure my ears will readjust to the D2K. Once they do, I'll switch back to the mh1c and compare once more.

The MH1C has somehow dethroned the FX40 for my favorite budget IEM. I don't know how...but they did. They don't have nearly as much instrument separation, soundstage, subbass, or dynamics. Yet, as soon as I get them in my ears it's like...."ahhhhhhhhh".

So smooth, so well balanced. Great bass kick without any perceptible midbass hump. Very comfortable in the ear. In fact, they're the first IEM's I've ever had that I could just pop into my ears without fiddling with zillions of tips or resorting to my trusty sony hybrid tips.

My only gripe...what the hell is up with this wacky bass-ackwards j cable?

I don't know that I'd use them for critical listening though. For good critical listening I still want something with more space, more high end sparkle, and better separation.

The MH1C has somehow dethroned the FX40 for my favorite budget IEM. I don't know how...but they did. They don't have nearly as much instrument separation, soundstage, subbass, or dynamics. Yet, as soon as I get them in my ears it's like...."ahhhhhhhhh".

So smooth, so well balanced. Great bass kick without any perceptible midbass hump. Very comfortable in the ear. In fact, they're the first IEM's I've ever had that I could just pop into my ears without fiddling with zillions of tips or resorting to my trusty sony hybrid tips.

My only gripe...what the hell is up with this wacky bass-ackwards j cable?

I don't know that I'd use them for critical listening though. For good critical listening I still want something with more space, more high end sparkle, and better separation.

^ DAT REFINEMENT > FX40. If JVC just fine tuned the 40s a bit more, making them less bright/ harsh in the highs department, like they did with their S400s headphone, they would be truly AMAZING. But as it stands these sony MH1Cs sound much more refined and combined with that crazy smooth fun bassy sound, these owns the FX40s for general listening. Plus they sound great with almost everything, while the FX40s are really revealing and is too picky regarding the quality of your mp3 files. I agree with you that the sonys are not that suited for critical listening, but they are just pure fun.

Please give details on the differences that make the MH1C sound so much better than the D2K.

One major flaw that abundant bass headphones can have, is cave like sound, as compared to IEMs. It is much harder to get cave like sound with abundant bass IEMs, than it is with headphones.

As I said. the D2K's beat it in everything except sound signature. mh1c is much closer to my preferred sound as far as the balance between subbbass, bass and mids is concerned.

But. I'm waiting to receive the xba-3 before making the final decision on selling the D2K or not.

And what do you mean cave like sound? If you mean openness and massive space, then yes, it is harder to get that with iems. The D2k's sound extraordinarily open. They are more focused on subbass and that was one reason I loved them. Which is why I was surprised when I moved back to them after hearing the mh1c for so long.

I'm sure my ears will readjust to the D2K. Once they do, I'll switch back to the mh1c and compare once more.

Cave like, coming from a bottle, boxy type sound, is a flaw. It is like a lack of airiness in the sound, with a little resonance (echo), in some cases. That is typical of closed headphones. But, I have also perceived some of that in the Grado SR80 which are open headphones.

Cave like, coming from a bottle, boxy type sound, is a flaw. It is like a lack of airiness in the sound, with a little resonance (echo), in some cases. That is typical of closed headphones. But, I have also perceived some of that in the Grado which are open headphones.

aaahh. well. The D2k's never had that problem.

The HM5's did though.

But just to clarify. You're saying iems sound better than headphones because headphones have that cavelike sound?

Cave like, coming from a bottle, boxy type sound, is a flaw. It is like a lack of airiness in the sound, with a little resonance (echo), in some cases. That is typical of closed headphones. But, I have also perceived some of that in the Grado which are open headphones.

aaahh. well. The D2k's never had that problem.

The HM5's did though.

But just to clarify. You're saying iems sound better than headphones because headphones have that cavelike sound?

If all headphones had that cave like sound, the answer would be "yes." But, when they don't, headphones are on the advantage, because the quantity of sound coming from them is larger than with IEMs. For me, cave like sound just ruins the sound experience, no matter how good other sound traits might be.

ok, this is a personal discovery for me. not really about iems, but still - it has something to do with them... anyways, today I was at otolaryngologist and guess what - I had some wax stuck in the depths of my ear canals ( I was digging too deep with those q-tips :D ). after removing them (not completely on the one side, it needs some softening with intensive peroxide treatment) and listening to my headphones once again, they sound even better :| I mean the amount of the was was pretty small - even the doctor noted that it wasn't quite little compared to average, but still - I can hear much more high frequency and now everything, even the darker phones are brighter...

so guys and gals - don't dig too deep in ear canals and visit the doctor once in a while for cleaning - you might be surprised how much of an upgrade it will be to your average listening experience with any headphones...

ok, this is a personal discovery for me. not really about iems, but still - it has something to do with them... anyways, today I was at otolaryngologist and guess what - I had some wax stuck in the depths of my ear canals ( I was digging too deep with those q-tips :D ). after removing them (not completely on the one side, it needs some softening with intensive peroxide treatment) and listening to my headphones once again, they sound even better :| I mean the amount of the was was pretty small - even the doctor noted that it wasn't quite little compared to average, but still - I can hear much more high frequency and now everything, even the darker phones are brighter...

so guys and gals - don't dig too deep in ear canals and visit the doctor once in a while for cleaning - you might be surprised how much of an upgrade it will be to your average listening experience with any headphones...

ok, this is a personal discovery for me. not really about iems, but still - it has something to do with them... anyways, today I was at otolaryngologist and guess what - I had some wax stuck in the depths of my ear canals ( I was digging too deep with those q-tips :D ). after removing them (not completely on the one side, it needs some softening with intensive peroxide treatment) and listening to my headphones once again, they sound even better :| I mean the amount of the was was pretty small - even the doctor noted that it wasn't quite little compared to average, but still - I can hear much more high frequency and now everything, even the darker phones are brighter...

so guys and gals - don't dig too deep in ear canals and visit the doctor once in a while for cleaning - you might be surprised how much of an upgrade it will be to your average listening experience with any headphones...